Morphological separation of the Central European Trochosa females (Araneae, Lycosidae)

Adult females of the five Central European wolf spiders Trochosa hispanica Simon, 1870, T. robusta (Simon, 1876), T. ruricola (De Geer, 1778), T. spinipalpis (F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1895), and T. terricola Thorell, 1856 were morphologically analysed. We defined sets of continuous and binary (presence/absence) variables. Continuous data of various epigynal and carapace dimensions were subjected to Principal Components Analysis (PCA). Using the PC loadings each individual was plotted along the PC axis in order to find gaps/overlaps between the species. The binary data sets were subjected to Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) in order to find characters that clearly separate the five Trochosa species. Using PCA only individuals of T. robusta and T. ruricola and of T. robusta and T. hispanica could be separated from each other. Using HCA all five species could clearly be separated by epigynal and vulval characteristics

A new feature for the separation of Trochosa spinipalpis and T. terricola males (Araneae, Lycosidae)

A new feature on the tip of the palp, which enables the separation of male Trochosa spinipalpis (F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1895) from T. terricola Thorell, 1856, is described. T. terricola exhibits a hairless strip on the tip of the palp, while T. spinipalpis lacks this feature and has long hairs on the whole palp

Auto covariance computer

A laser velocimeter covariance processor which calculates the auto covariance and cross covariance functions for a turbulent flow field based on Poisson sampled measurements in time from a laser velocimeter is described. The device will process a block of data that is up to 4096 data points in length and return a 512 point covariance function with 48-bit resolution along with a 512 point histogram of the interarrival times which is used to normalize the covariance function. The device is designed to interface and be controlled by a minicomputer from which the data is received and the results returned. A typical 4096 point computation takes approximately 1.5 seconds to receive the data, compute the covariance function, and return the results to the computer

The Effect of Welfare on Work and Marriage: A View From the States

This study provides a comprehensive examination of the work and family structure incentives of public assistance, focusing on the consequences of state-determined programs. Such an approach allows state policy- makers to understand the tradeoffs implicit in their current program parameters. It allows them to better identify alternative arrangements that may be more consistent with policy goals. And it discovers linkages between work and family structure incentives that may be otherwise difficult to discern. We follow the previous literature in working through a small set of common scenarios meant to represent typical experiences of public assistance recipients. However, accompanying this study is an EXCEL spreadsheet program that allows interested readers to extend the analysis for the complete set of program participation/family characteristics permutations. The spreadsheet has a user-friendly interface and may be downloaded from the internet.

Thanksgiving Traditions - Trudy

Every year for Thanksgiving I would go to either my dads parents house or my moms parents house depending on who we went to the year before. If we were at Grandma J’s there would be about 25 people. If we were at Grandma S’s there would be 30 - 40 people that would come. We would have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner; turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, the usual stuff and depending on whose house we were at, the guys would do the dishes after dinner. Everything we ate for dinner was homemade; the rolls, jam, jellies, and even the butter. We would always drink water and were not allowed to have soda pop. Grandma S would make homemade dipped candies that had a cream filling then dipped in chocolate. She taught me and my brothers to make them when we got older. We would only eat Thanksgiving dinner on grandma\u27s best china and her set of silverware made from real silver. Grandma thought it was important that we eat on these things because we are celebrating. At Grandma J’s we would have a checkers tournament and grandma would always try to beat grandpa but she never could. We would play different card games like Poker or Pinochle to pass the time. On Thanksgiving we got to stay inside and watch the Wizard of Oz instead of going out to help milk the cows. I have tried to keep all my traditions that I grew up with the same but when you get married things change. The food has stayed the same but we have also added to it and I use my best china for dinner, never paper cups or paper plates. Some food we added are 10 pounds of ass (miniature pecan pies) and a crab dip my daughter in-law makes and refuses to give me the recipe. The homemade candies got new flavors like raspberry, blueberry, and orange and we started dipping them in white and dark chocolate instead on just milk chocolate. We also drink soda and not just water. My favorite thing about Thanksgiving though was having all my family together

Christmas - Cole

On Christmas Eve we go to my aunt’s house for dinner. We eat food, play games, and then Santa, and sometimes Mrs. Clause, comes at the end of the night and gives all the kids a present and then we go home. On Christmas day me and my three sister would wake up around seven o’clock but mom and dad had a rule that we couldn’t wake them up until eight o’clock. Sometimes we would watch t.v. but most of the time we would look at the presents and play a guessing game to see if we knew what was in them. Every year my mom says “it looks like Santa’s sleigh tipped over in here” because we have a small living room and we usually get ten presents each and when there are four kids and two parents then there isn’t a lot of room on the floor. One year my oldest sister had Christmas at our house with her two kids and her husband because their house wasn’t ready to be moved into yet and we couldn’t even see the floor because there were so many presents. My favorite present that I ever got was a a terra climber. It is a remote controlled car that kind of looks like an alligator with a long tail. Besides the presents, Santa also left a bowl of apples, oranges and candy cane; another bowl of the same candy we got in our stockings; and a third bowl of a bunch of different kinds of nuts on the kitchen table. He also left a note with them. One year the note said he had to take some carrots out of our fridge because Rudolph was hungry but he took the whole bag and left it empty on the front lawn. After we finish opening the presents we call grandma and tell her everything we got then we clean up and go to her house for this present exchange and lunch. When we get done at grandmas, we come home and open all our stuff and throw all the garbage away so the garbage truck can pick it up the next day. All of the plastic stuff goes in the recycle bin and the smallest person has to climb in and smash it down because there is so much stuff. All the paper and cardboard gets taken out to the fire-pit in the backyard and dad burns it so we have room in the garbage. I remember one year dad couldn’t get it to light after he dumped a little gas on it and when he finally got it started it made a great big ball of fire. When that happened the fire pit was about ten feet from the house so when it was spring dad moved the fire-pit farther from the house. My favorite thing about Christmas is trading presents with my extended family, decorating the tree with my mom and sisters, and making candy with my grandma

The Approval of Retirement Contributions in Chapter 13 Payment Plans

(Excerpt) In the United States, employees often contribute a portion of their annual income to their 401(k) retirement plans. These contributions may fluctuate based on age, income, or additional contributions by employers. At the same time, chapter 13 debtors are often required to pay at least a portion of what is owed to creditors as part of their court-approved payment plans. A court will only approve a debtor\u27s chapter 13 payment plan if a debtor contributes all of his projected disposable income to pay creditors over the applicable commitment period. While disposable income is defined as the current monthly income received by the debtor ... less amounts reasonably necessary to be expended ... for the maintenance or support of the debtor or a dependent of the debtor, projected disposable income is not actually defined in the Bankruptcy Code. An issue arises for chapter 13 debtors regarding whether they may contribute to their retirement funds while paying back creditors through their chapter 13 plans. If a debtor\u27s retirement contributions are considered part of his disposable income, then it appears that income must be put toward his chapter 13 plan; but if not, perhaps a portion of it may still be put towards the debtor’s 401(k). Prior to 2005, courts held that voluntary contributions to a 401(k) were part of a debtor’s disposable income. Chapter 13 debtors were required to cease retirement contributions and instead use all disposable income to pay creditors for the duration of their chapter 13 payment plans. In 2005, Congress amended section 541 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”), providing that “property of the estate does not include any amount withheld by an employer from the wages of employees for payment as contributions to [a 401(k) retirement plan] except that such amount under this subparagraph shall not constitute disposable income as defined in section 1325(b)(2).” Known as “the hanging paragraph,” this section has caused disagreement among bankruptcy courts regarding whether contributions to retirement plans are excepted from a debtor’s estate in chapter 13 calculations—if so, creditors would not be entitled to funds that a debtor has already contributed to his retirement plan. This memorandum first discusses the differing post-BAPCPA interpretations regarding retirement funds as disposable income, as well as the permissibility of post-petition retirement contributions. The next section will highlight the impact of the good faith requirement on the feasibility of retirement plan contributions throughout the chapter 13 bankruptcy process

Christmas Traditions - Jenifer

Growing up my dad loved to put up Christmas lights on the house. Every year he would put them up but we were not allowed outside to see them. When he was finished, he would wrap me and my sisters in our pajamas and blankets and him and mom would take us outside in the dark. We would stand in the front yard with mom and watch as dad turned the Christmas lights on for the first time of the year. Even though I was still little, I never got tired of watching the lights come on for the first time. It felt like that was the start to Christmas. I remember going out every year to pick out the best Christmas tree for our house. We would sometimes spend hours looking for that perfect tree. To this day I will only buy a real Christmas tree. To me it just isn’t Christmas without the smell of a fresh cut pine tree smelling up the house. I think that is my favorite part of the Christmas season. I remember on year when my family did not have a lot of money and we couldn’t afford to buy the shiny ornaments that everyone else had. Instead of buying ornaments, my mom learned to make some. We had so much fun making our own special ornaments. My favorite one we learned how to make was an ice cream cone. We would take a styrofoam ball and glue it to a ice cream cone. Then my mom learned how to make this frosting that got hard. After they were done we would put hooks through the “ice cream” part and hang them on the tree. My mom would always get angle hair which is just spun glass, and put it on the tree every year. It kind of looked like spider webs but it looked so pretty when the lights were on. Mom never put too much on just so we could see the ornaments. On Christmas we would drive from Kaysville to Nibley to spend Christmas with my moms family. Mom and dad would only let us bring one toy that we got for Christmas because they didn’t want to pack all the toys with us if we were just going to be there for a couple of hours